Jan. 17 (UPI) — It’s rarely notable these days when U.S. border officials find illegal drugs at Mexico border checkpoints. But a single heroin bust earlier this week stands out.
Drug interceptions along the U.S.-Mexico border take place practically every day, bringing in thousands of pounds of drugs worth tens of thousands of dollars and more.
But an interception Wednesday at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge resulted in officers finding $158,145 worth of heroin in a single enforcement action.
In a release Friday from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officials said enforcement officers assigned to the Brownsville bridge region directed a 2000 Chevrolet to a secondary examination site after a primary one. There, officials said, a canine unit assisted with a “non-intrusive inspection system,” resulting in CBP officers finding .31 pounds of what is alleged to be brown heroin. They also found more than 9 pounds of what officers allege is black tar heroin.
CPB officials said the estimated street value of the heroin is $5,919 and $152,226, respectively.
“Our CBP officers conduct their inspections using different enforcement tools, and their efforts yielded this significant narcotics seizure,” said Port Director Tater Ortiz of the Brownsville Port of Entry.
CBP officers seized the narcotics, of course, as well as the Chevy.
Wednesday’s bust was notable, but it is nowhere close to the the estimated value of another recent border drug bust. Last month, U.S. officials found what they said was almost $7 million worth of meth at a border crossing in Laredo.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the department of Homeland Security, and Homeland Security Investigations special agents arrested the driver and launched a criminal probe, according to the release.
The Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge is one of a trio of international bridges on the U.S.-Mexico border between the cities of Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas.